The Midnight Hour
by GallifreyGryffindorGirl
Summary: The clock stuck twelve and its time for a new Doctor to take the TARDIS for a spin, but will Clara Oswald even want to stay on the TARDIS with this new face and a less than pleasant 'hello? Rated M for later Chapters. *HAS BEEN RE-WRITTEN PLEASE START FROM FIRST CHAPTER THANKS x*
1. Chapter 1

**_Now as everyone should have seen I am re-writing this story so its best to start from the beginning again as a few things have been tweaked, cut or added. Hope you enjoy the new turns x _**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter One<strong>

"New kidneys! Oh! I don't like the colour…"

If there was anything stranger than watching your best friend blink out of existence in a haze of gold and orange mist to be replaced by someone significantly different, it was to have him then declare he disliked the colour of his kidneys.

"The colour… of your kidneys?" Clara took a brief step back as he seemed to lunge forward towards her – she didn't think he meant to lunge, he seemed very much like a baby deer learning to walk. Apparently that will happen when you suddenly find yourself several inches taller than you were a few seconds ago. She wiped furiously at the tears of grief on her cheeks, instinct kicking in to preserve her dignity in front of this near stranger who was inspecting her with unfamiliar eyes.

They were both thrown suddenly to the right, parts of the TARDIS console sparked and exploded as the new Doctor was thrown against it with an alarmed expression. He staggered when he walked again – he hadn't taken his wide eyes from her face even while being thrown around – and he asked suddenly "Do you happen to have any idea how to fly this thing?"

Maybe that was the last straw for her. Like an over stretched elastic band she felt something in her mind snap and she froze allowing this stranger to get almost nose to nose with her - a nervous, worried and confused expression dancing on his face. She wasn't allowed to remain so inactive of course – something else in her mind lashed back almost painfully causing her to physically jump, eyes shutting against the pain, and she nearly touched the stranger as she took a step forward towards the controls.

She knew how to fly the TARDIS. She remembered the big-chinned Doctor, painfully she remembered him now, giving her the 'basic's' less and she had brief memories of being a Timelady on Gallifrey – a TARDIS technician so occasionally she remembered things about the Type 40 TARDIS she probably shouldn't have known and right then at that moment all those memories seemed to flitter into her mind like a steady stream, only this stream burned like a sun and glowed gold in her minds eye.

She pressed a few odd buttons, felt the TARDIS herself cooperating for once, stabilizing their flight through the vortex so they were no longer thrown around like rag dolls on the old ship. She was struggling to rein in the ships speed however – they rocketed through the vortex like a cat on fire and she could hardly find a way to stop it and It didn't help that the TARDIS seemed to be letting out what she swore was a panicked whine and that this new man was following her so closely his chest almost pressed against her back with his closeness and occasionally when they were thrown around he reached out to steady her as she concentrated on flying. Her eyes finally landed on the breaks – or what her Doctor had called the 'blue boringers' and as if the TARDIS was an out of control car she got a tight grip on the lever and slowly inched it down feeling thankful when the ship began to slow to a reasonable speed and she stopped her worried whine. Still she didn't hit the brakes soon enough and when they landed wherever they where it was with a loud 'thump' that caused them to stagger back. In the corner of her eye she saw a lever on the TARDIS move of its own accord before the ship let out her equivalent of a sigh, a release of air and smoke from the main console. She clearly wasn't going to be moving anytime soon.

Clara released a sigh, turned and found herself nose to nose with this new man – he was staring at her with a slightly cocked head like a curious puppy, but his eyes where still wide and skittish in the way of a birds. She took a step back and watched those eyes narrow and a slight frown creased his head his entire focus was on her and everything she did right then.

"So I guess you are not an enemy." He shrugged suddenly entire body relaxing rapidly as he sat down on the steps of the TARDIS and pulled off his shoes. "Blasted feet got bigger, these ridiculous shoes hurt…" she distinctly heard him mumble.

She wanted to speak, but she didn't know where to start so Clara just stood there watching him massage his feet which must've been at least two sizes bigger than the old shoes. She didn't know what to say first, she'd begged him not to change but he had, and now he didn't even seem to remember her.

A few moments passed and he seemed to sense her gaze, he froze in his ministrations of his feet sudden blue eyes reached up to stare right back at her before he jumped up and approached like she was an animal he was afraid would bolt. "Are you afraid of me?" he asked, head cocked to the side again with another frown – though this one was accompanied by a smile, a tight lipped one that seemed almost sinister on this new face.

She took an involuntary step back as he reached out for her. She watched his out stretch arm fall heavily to his side and a fleeting look of hurt at her rejection passed through his eyes before it was buried deep by something harder, colder. "I suppose you hate me for replacing him." He quipped, seeing the breath leave her for a second as she frowned too – though hers seemed a mixture of anger and disbelief.

He watched her features tighten suddenly with anger and she stared him hard in the eye that defiant streak in her rising to the surface as she pulled her chin up. "What's my name?"

He paused, shrugged and said with casual nonchalance "Why does it matter?"

Her anger built, hands tightened into fists. "It matters a lot! Now what is my name? Do you even remember me?"

She watched his eyes suddenly light up a fraction, as if a light bulb went off in his head. "Oh yes, I suppose it does matter. You are the first face this face saw – you should have a name. Oswin wasn't it?"

She frowned lightly. "N-no… Oswin was an echo."

"Oh right, you're the echo girl."

Clara closed her eyes briefly and counted to five in her mind. Part of her was pleased he had not called her 'his impossible girl' and another part horribly empty that he'd forgotten. When she opened her eyes he was looking unsteady – like someone who was dizzy and nauseous she saw him lean on the console and rub his temples with closed eyes and remembered what he'd said before he changed. This regeneration was a difficult one – one that shouldn't have even happened so of course his body might struggle with it. She closed her eyes again, having an internal struggle, she felt the familiar brush of the TARDIS's telepathic circuits against her mind encourage her – not that she needed it. She opened her eyes again.

"You can call me Oswin instead if you want."

"Well it is your name."

She ignored that. "And I don't hate you."

She saw his head snap up to stare at her then, a suspicious look in his eyes as he considered her. He moved eventually to stand right in front of her again, close enough that they nearly touched. "It's okay if you hate me." He reached both his hand up to touch her arms, hesitating to see if she would recoil again, and when she didn't his hands landed on her arms lightly.

Clara gazed up at his face trying desperately to see any hint of the old kindness in his eyes but found none. The only thing this man had in common with the Doctor she had known, the Doctor who had turned up on her door-step dressed as a mad monk, was the deep sadness that had been almost a constant companion throughout his life. No his eyes where now hard and cold, that sliver of ice in his hearts she'd been warned about now showing clearly on the surface.

"No I really don't hate you." She said the words and found she startled herself with the truth. "I am… shocked. I think I will need time to adjust to this new you. I think I should go home for now at least…"

His grip tightened suddenly, painfully and Clara knew later that she would have bruises. She was so startled by his sudden man handling of her that she almost missed him say "I won't lose you again Oswin Oswald."

"I – you won't lose – can you let go of me, you're hurting me!" she cried out the last part and watched him stagger back, releasing her and staring from his hands to her arms with horrified confusion.

"I… I'm sorry…." He sounded disturbed as he glared at the hands like they were completely unfamiliar to him – which she supposed they were.

She didn't say anything at first, rubbing her arms, startled by the sudden demonstration of the advanced timelord strength he'd once warned her about. She didn't say it was okay, because it wasn't, instead she just said "You're not going to lose me. You sent me away twice – I have no desire to leave again no matter what is going on in your new head."

He finally looked away from his hand, clasping them behind his back as he nodded at her sharply as though he was worried his hands might grasp her again.

Clara frowned suddenly starting at his face. She watched a tiny trickle of blood come from his nose, watched as his eyes unfocused suddenly and he staggered again – he had enough time to give her a confused look before he suddenly hit the floor like a sack of bricks. She fell on her knees beside him shaking his shoulders lightly as though he would break she found tears coming back to her eyes as she tried to wake him finding herself choked before she could say 'Doctor' as though part of her still couldn't accept that he was the same man.

She shook him harder and heard him groan lightly but he didn't wake or move. She looked desperately at the console and plead with the sentient time machine "Help me!" and she watched as the machine moved the console screen around so it faced her, showing the image outside as the street of her apartment. The TARDIS had brought them to the only other safe place it could – and probably just in time since Clara remembered that most of the Doctors regenerations where followed by the TARDIS's own reformation.

Understanding passed over Clara and she tried to lift the Doctor herself, but despite this new man being much thinner compared to the predecessor he was just as much a dead weight as any other – there was no way she'd be able to carry him while he was unconscious by herself. "Please…" she found herself begging him again for the second time that day. "Doctor please!"

It was the first time she'd called him by the name and she saw him flicker awake at that just briefly enough to help her pull him up though he promptly fell unconscious again after that – but she was already under his arms and able to drag him out the door by then.

It was dark outside already, Clara shuddered against the wind and noticed all around her that several apartment's where still lit up with lights and blasting carols – it must still have been Christmas day. A thought passed her briefly, wondering if she'd ever get some Christmas dinner. She was so busy carrying the Doctor and lost in thoughts she didn't notice the three youths approach her.

"Hey lady you okay?" one of them asked standing far too close for her comfort. She eyed him warily, he and his friends where mostly hidden in their hoodies and they twitched nervously from one foot to the other.

"Yeah" she said slowly readjusting her grip on the Doctor's arm over her shoulder. "He just had one too many to drink."

"So you won't mind giving us his wallet then?"

"Eh, what?" she frowned not sure she heard right.

The kid withdrew a medium sized kitchen knife from his hoodie pocket, though his hand shook when he held it and he licked his lips nervously. "Come on, give us the wallet."

"And jewellery" the twitchiest kid dove forward suddenly apparently aiming for the silver necklace around her throat. Clara shut her eyes on instinctive response waiting for the yank around her neck and just praying they left her and the Doctor alone once they realised neither had a wallet to take – but the yank around her throat never came.

She opened her eyes to find the Doctor's hand gripped around the wrist of the kid whose eyes widened. She saw his hand tighten on the wrist as he suddenly stopped leaning so heavily on her – the kid winced obviously in pain and went down on his knees at the Doctors grip. The kid with the knife lunged forward apparently to protect his friend and Clara yelped "Doctor!" at the same time as he stopped leaning on her completely so he could batter the knife from the kids hand without releasing his grip on the others wrist.

He was panting despite not really moving and Clara felt worry about that even as he spoke to the stunned kids on the floor. "I'm not sure what people teach kids these days – but you are supposed to respect a lady. Now, if you ever come near this young lady again – or anyone else for that matter – I will find you. Now- run." He let the kids wrist go, watching them drag their rather stunned and unhelpful third friend away down a side alleyway. Clara watched as the Doctor staggered suddenly and she dove under his arm to steady him again wrapping an arm around his waist as he sagged against her suddenly, tiredly managing to say "Never cared for your choice of housing area." Before he promptly passed out again.

She was still relatively stunned, managed to make it to the safety of her apartment buildings doorway she managed to avoid detection from her elderly and mostly deaf neighbour Mrs Gubbler as she took her little Scottie dog out to do his business. Clara felt like her luck had turned for the good when she found the elevator was no longer out of order- she rode up to the fifth floor without getting stopped and was thankful there was no one around when she stepped off.

She tired her front door and found it locked – she wasn't surprised though, it was late, and her family had probably gone home after her running out of them again. It took some manoeuvring to fish her door key out of her pocket and open the door, but she didn't relax until she'd gotten the Doctor into the flat – kicking the door shut behind her – she managed to get him into her room. She was thankful the Doctor was unconscious and couldn't see the mess her room was in, though the unmade bed made it far easier to get the Doctor into it. She paused and stared at him in her bed, the already short trousers where now halfway up his leg and showing skin and some rainbow stripy socks she shouldn't have been surprised her Doctor wore. She wasn't about to remove his trousers for him – she wouldn't do that even if he was the bow-tie Doctor she loved – but she did manage to remove the long (and now rather tight) tweed Victorian tail coat and waistcoat, draping them over a chair in the corner of her room. He looked cold and almost naked without the extra layers so mostly for her own peace of mind Clara pulled her bed covers over the Doctor.

She was sitting on the bed beside him when his back arched suddenly and she had this horrible thought that he was having some kind of fit – but relaxed when he gasped and a cloud of golden regeneration energy escaped his mouth with a gasping sigh and his body relaxed again.

She stared at him, feeling that she could now that he was not awake and staring right back at her with those suddenly ice cold blue eyes.

At first glance Clara admitted she'd been intimidated by his new appearance – those eyebrows where like a whole other limb, especially when they were pulled down in a frown. Now that she looked at him while he slept Clara saw they still seemed to be frowning, despite all of his features being relaxed. Apparently the frowning was just a thing for this new face. A much older face. Age had never been a thing for Clara, not even when it was as apparent as it was now, but she couldn't help but think that the Doctors age had caught up with him – and it brought an ironic smile to her face.

She couldn't resist reaching out to smooth that new unruly curly grey hair from where it had fallen on the Doctors face – she almost retracted her hand when he moved suddenly, his face leaning into her touch. He sighed contentedly when his forehead was pressed against the palm of her hand and Clara froze for a second before relaxing, smoothing her hand over his face for a few minutes before she got up to leave the room casting a last glance at the Doctor over her shoulder and biting her lip as she worried for him.

It seemed that both Clara's body and mind had been waiting for her to be sure the Doctor was safe in her apartment before the events of today caught up with her. Considering she'd thought her biggest problem this morning was not having a boyfriend to stop her step-mother getting on her wick, the day had turned out at least ten times worse. As she puttered around her apartment doing her best to clean up what her family hadn't, she wondered vaguely if the Doctor could understand why she'd been so shocked by his sudden change.

She wondered if it registered to him that while all of this had taken place over several hundred years for him – and she had no illusions that those where several hundred horribly slow and painful years – it had all happened in just one day for her.

She sighed as she entered the kitchen and saw the mountain of dishes still to be washed – her inner control freak demanded she clean them right now and she wasn't going to argue knowing that If she didn't the thought of dirty dishes would be on her mind as she was trying to sleep. As she stood there scrubbing the Christmas dishes in hot soapy water that almost soothed her racing mind she finally noticed the sticky note on her fridge that had certainly not been there earlier.

'Clara, we're not sure what's going on with you today and your naked boyfriend but we decided to leave for the night and let you sort it out. We'll pop by in the morning – hope you're alright sweetheart.

- Love Gran, Dad and Linda x'

Clara hesitated that, wondering if she should call her family and tell them not to come in the morning – but she knew if she did that they'd be keener to come over anyway, she'd actually be lucky if they didn't turn up on her doorstep within the next hour if she did that. No it was better to let them come check on her or they'd worry themselves silly about her.

She checked on the Doctor twice more before she finally settled into a makeshift bed on her couch, once to see him release more regeneration energy into the air but the second time he looked like he was sleeping peacefully. She couldn't resist laying her hand on both sides of his chest just to check his heart beats a little worried about the nosebleed he had earlier – but both hearts where thumping strong against her hand and reassured her own heart that was doing exhausted flip-flops rather than full beats. Far too much emotional trauma and strain for her heart today apparently.

She settled down on her couch, once again thankful for her short height allowing her to fit comfortably on the couch, but it still took her hours to fall asleep despite her leaden limbs and eyelids.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Now as everyone should have seen I am re-writing this story so its best to start from the beginning again as a few things have been tweaked, cut or added. Hope you enjoy the new turns x _**

**Chapter Two**

Clara awoke with a start when she realised that the hairs on the back of her neck where standing alert not because she was cold, she but because someone was staring at her.

The Doctor was sitting in the arm chair staring very intently at her as she sat up and watched him warily back. The new eyes made his stare intense, unnerving even but she had a distinct impression that he was just curious – maybe she looked different with his new eyes after all. Still after a few minutes of staring at each other (in which she noted he did not blink) she finally said "Can you stop staring at me? It's a little creepy."

He blinked finally, once, slowly and a thin smile donned the new lips. "I apologise. Are you feeling well? You don't look good at all."

"No I probably don't." she grumbled running a hand down her face still tiered. "No one looks great after sleeping on a couch. How are you feeling?"

He jumped up suddenly "Ah, much better! I always require a rest after a regeneration – well the last me didn't, that foppish man child had far too much energy to be considered normal! Then again what should one expect from a man who things fish fingers and custard are a good meal? Honestly it's a wonder more people didn't know he was an alien."

Her heart hurt a little when he insulted his former face and she tried not to let that show on her face. "How's your memory? You seemed a little all over yesterday?"

He gave her a withering look. "Well of course, what would your mind be like if it was suddenly rebooted? My memory is fine."

"So you remember how to fly the TARDIS, and my name?"

"Of course, never really forgot – just misplaced my dear Oswin."

She flinched now at that name. "That's not my name!"

"Of course it is – one of your names anyway. And you said it yourself the first time we met. Well not the first time we met, the first time we met I was having issues with my new kidneys and you can't blame me there an awful colour this time around! No the first time you met my other face, called yourself Clara Oswin Oswald. Oh I like that… Clara." He said her name again rolling the 'r' with his new accent and looking away from her. Honestly she rather liked the way her name sounded in this new accent too so was disappointed when he suddenly shrugged and looked at her again. "I am still going to call you Oswin however– first names should be saved for special occasions."

She felt a little irritated by this new attitude and couldn't resist saying as she stood and moved to the centre of the room "Oh so I suppose I get use your first name for special occasions too then?"

He turned that burning cold blue gaze on her then, focused like a laser beam on her with a sudden intensity she couldn't understand as he prowled towards her like she was a prey animal and he was a large sleek cat hunting her – something that defiantly paired with his predatory gaze. "You already did didn't you Oswald?" he almost whispered intensely as he circled and stood behind her causing her to jump a little when his hands brushed gently up her arms, over the bruises he's caused yesterday and landed softly on her shoulders. "Isn't that what you whispered through the crack? You're the reason the Timelord's gave me this new set of regeneration's when I was so prepared to die, aren't you?"

He didn't sound angry, but Clara had learned not to believe the first appearance of a person. It was there burning just under his skin that she'd dared answer the question 'Doctor Who?' the question that must never be answered. She'd known he'd ask her what she did, she'd known he'd probably be angry with her and she'd known he was completely prepared to die but that didn't stop the breath escaping her when he confessed that out loud like it was nothing more than a simple fact.

"I did not give them your name." she replied, fisting her hands and steeling her spine fully prepared for him to argue, to not believe her. "I told them you where the Doctor and that you had saved them and that if they cared any that would be the only name that mattered; the Doctor."

He was silent as he stood at her back then, though his fingers loosened the tight grip they'd gained while she was speaking. She gasped when she felt him lean down, the brush of his lips on the curve of her ear as he asked "You wouldn't lie to me would you Clara?" he rolled the 'r' heavily now and she felt her body respond involuntarily to the sound and his touch which caused her to clench her fists tighter.

"Only if it was to protect you." She said, knowing she'd lied to him once or twice before. "But never about this."

Another pause, broken rather suddenly by knocking on Clara's door causing them both to turn their heads. She heard her father call out her name, and was more than stunned when this new Doctor suddenly leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek – and while his other face had a habit of kissing her forehead when he was particularly happy, there was something more possessive about the kiss this face gave her -he stepped back from her and lightly pushed her towards the door "Go answer the door Oswin, that man sounds worried and impatient."

Clara slipped back into an aloof mask to hide her surprise at this Doctor who within just a few conversations seemed far more flippant than the one she'd known. "Of course he sounds worried" she grumbled at him. "Last night as far as my dad knows I ran out of here again and vanished for another few hours, after coming back from the first time crying!"

The Doctor did not get time to react to that statement before she opened her front door and allowed her family back into the flat. She as a little surprised, but ultimately glad, that her step-mother Linda wasn't with her dad and gran.

Her gran was the first to enter the flat and she stopped at the sight of the Doctor, giving him a leering stare before she turned around and said to Clara "Oh sweetie I preferred the young naked one!"

Clara didn't know if she should laugh or roll her eyes, so she just chuckled a bit and was very aware of her dad staring at her and the Doctor – who was watching all of them as he leaned on the far wall with his arms crossed over his chest. She had the weirdest feeling he was treating them like some nature documentary for his own amusement. "Yeah, uh…." She suddenly had nothing to say as she realised she couldn't call the Doctor by his name, having introduced his younger face as her boyfriend yesterday – she couldn't just give the same name to her family and expect them not to question could she?

She caught his sharp glance, she'd perceived it as a warned and nearly swallowed her own tongue when he said in a voice just as sharp as his stare "I'm the Doctor."

Clara had the distinct impression that he was saying it more for her – as if he was worried she wouldn't accept this new face being the Doctor, and she guessed after her reaction both before and after he changed she could understand why he didn't think she would. She felt momentarily guilty, but was distracted by her dad asking "Wasn't your boyfriend the… naked one, a Doctor too?"

"Not a doctor" the Doctor said irritably before Clara could answer. "The Doctor."

"Doctor" she hissed a warning.

"Clara what's going on?" her gran, never one for beating around the bush, turned to her granddaughter with her hands on her hips looking like she was about to tell Clara she was grounded.

Clara looked from her confused and concerned family, to the Doctor whose face looked stern and daring and then a thought occurred to her. She wondered if he was testing her, from what little she'd seen she wouldn't put it passed this new man to do so. But what was he testing? Did he want her to tell her family that he was the same man as yesterday but with a different face and attitude to boot?

Understanding that he was testing her, she raised her chin defiantly at the Doctor and met his challenging gaze, and made her own decision. "Gran, dad I can't explain anything because honestly I'm a bit more than confused myself. You-"she pointed at the Doctor who raised one of those formidable eyebrows at her "-go wait in there and be quite!" she pointed at her bedroom door, and was surprised even more when the Doctor obeyed her with no argument.

Her gran and dad tried to get an explanation for the older man now waiting in her bedroom with the same name as the naked man she'd brought to Christmas dinner – but Clara remained firm and refused to give them more explanation that 'He's my friend'. They'd learned while she was a teenager that she was too stubborn to coax an answer out of so eventually they gave up – though Clara could tell her dad in particular was unhappy about this.

"Alright fine." He said grumpily finishing his cup of tea. "Are you alright today? Yesterday you seemed to be all over the place."

"I'll live" Clara replied non-committedly.

"Where did you keep running off too?" her gran quizzed.

"I had to go fetch my friend out of some deep mess" Clara smiled, knowing that there was a great possibility of the Doctor listening at the bedroom door. "What're best friends for after all?"

"Usually for getting you into an even bigger mess if they're my friends." Her dad mumbled with a grin.

Gran suddenly poked her dad in the side "Oh you haven't told her yet!"

"What?" Clara frowned worried all of a sudden.

Her dad looked embarrassed all of a sudden. "I, well… I know you and Linda don't get along so you don't have to be happy about it but we're getting married."

Two seconds passed before Clara replied "Oh dad, just because I don't like Linda doesn't mean I'd be unhappy for you! It just matters that you're happy!"

Her dad grinned "What did I do to get a daughter like you?"

Clara listened to her dad and gran happily talking about his engagement for another fifteen minutes before she hurried her family along getting very self-conscious of the Doctor waiting and being strangely quiet. By the time her family left the Doctor had been in her bedroom for an hour and she was dreading finding out what he'd been up too in there.

She entered her room intending to ask what he'd been thinking telling her family that he was the Doctor, but instead took in the sight of her completely ransacked bedroom. She didn't know if she should be outraged or pure embarrassed when she realised he'd been through her underwear drawer finding a pair of silken lace panties handing on the dresser handle.

"Doctor!" her voice was low and furious as she stomped to the door that lead to the bathroom where she could hear the obvious clunky noises of the Doctor going through her cabinet.

"Oswin?" he appeared in the bathroom doorway before she had chance to enter.

"Why the hell have you gone through all my things?" she hissed.

He raised his eyebrows at her again, a kind of ironic look as if he was surprised she hadn't figured it out herself. "Testing my boundaries. I've never been in your bedroom before Clara – there's a funny smell and I can't find the source, I was worried for a second it was coming from inside the wall but then I realised it was probably coming from this cupboard here…"

"It's just damp towels getting warmed up by the hot boiler!" Clara put her hands on her hips and explained the smell to him. "And what do you mean 'testing your boundaries'? Why do you even have to test your boundaries, I think everyone knows its overstepping your boundaries to go through someone's underwear drawer!"

He smirked suddenly "Why are you embarrassed by your underwear Oswin? I admit my other face never pegged you for someone with a taste for lace… or bows."

Her face got red. She wanted to hit him but kept her hands to herself. "My taste has nothing to do with you- don't do it again."

His smirk only increased as he moved past her – somehow he managed to stop their bodies touching even in the tiny space offered to them in the doorway. "Have your family gone then?" he asked "Did you explain everything to them?"

"Explain what to them?" Clara folded her arms over her chest standing in the room and facing him with a challenging gaze.

He just looked amused by her stance. "Well I assume they asked how I could be the Doctor when they met my other face all that time ago."

She frowned and her gaze faltered for a second. "Doctor they met you yesterday."

"No…" he frowned too, gaze looking lost for a second "…Yes. Yesterday. For you. So did you explain to them?"

Clara worried her lip, no longer interested in his challenging stares daring her to go against him, more worried about his apparent struggle to remember what had happened to him over a long period of time had happened to her in just a day. "Are you okay Doctor?"

His lips tightened. "Did you explain to them?"

"No"

"Why not?" he snapped, looking irritated.

"Why should I?" she frowned. "And it would just bring up more complications – and my over protective dad probably wouldn't like you at all once he found out I ripped myself in millions of pieces and died hundreds of times to save your life."

He looked like he understood her point for a minute before he suddenly asked, in a voice no longer heated but rather carefully void of any emotion "Do you not want to travel with me anymore?"

Her folded arms dropped in surprise "Of course I want to travel with you."

"Then why not tell your family where you'll be going?"

"Because we only do Wednesdays?" she said in a careful voice, suddenly uncertain.

"Yes, why is that?" he sounded genuinely confused.

"Uh… because I needed to look after the Maitland kids – I couldn't just run away with you."

He threw his arms out wide inviting her to look around "You don't have any kids to look out for now."

He bit her lip, knowing what he was getting at but hesitating. "I can't just… I can't just come away with you!"

"Why not?"

"Because… I'm human – I should have a normal human life too!" she tried her best to explain – but felt her own doubts about her words.

The Doctor gave her an exasperated look. "Oswin we both know you're never going to have a normal life – you said goodbye to that when you jumped into my time stream and you knew it."

She still shuffled uncomfortably, but felt herself being swayed – and she could see from the keen look the Doctor examined her with that he knew she was tempted too. "But… My family… I can't just vanish on them, I can't just never see them again…"

His hard expression did soften a fraction then, and his hands came up to touch her arms again over the bruises his grip had caused the previous day – though this time his touch was soft, his thumbs rubbing her skin in a gentle caress as he said "I wasn't asking you to sacrifice your family for me, I could never do that. But while my other self was… content to sit around and be your – what would you call it – diversion? I'm not."

Clara's arms came up to grip the Doctors arms gently as she looked up at him, his thumbs where still ghosting over her skin, she told him sincerely "You weren't my diversion. Do you really think I'd have sacrificed everything for a diversion?" she gave him a teasing grin – and saw his lips curl just slightly in response.

He sighed suddenly, eye's rolling up to the ceiling he met her gaze again suddenly and said fast "I doubt I shall ever get this sentimental again Oswin so do make up your mind quickly – I want you to travel with me, not just some days, all the time, with visits for your family of course. I… need you Clara. Unless… you don't want to travel with me this time? I know I look…."

"Doctor…" she said it softly but with amusement, while he spoke his thumbs ghosting across her skin had become more insistent in their touch and she suspected it had something to do with his nervousness – she'd watch out for that tick more now. "You know, I do remember some of your other incarnations. I remember the man who wore a vegetable, and the man with a ridiculously long scarf, the man who played the flute, the jelly babies, the cat pin and the search to find a time you could actually say 'Alons-y Alonso'. I admit that maybe I did get a bit attached to the face with a big chin because, well, he was the first face I saw." She met his eyes and saw his surprise and understanding, a slight frown on his face as he watched her intently waiting for her to finish – which she did with a grin. "And of course I want to travel with you, I want to know what quirks this new Doctor has – thought I seriously doubt you're going to carry an umbrella with a question mark on it."

He dropped his hands from her, instead putting them in his trouser pockets (though they half stuck out of the pockets, his hands no longer fitting in them) he gave her a crooked smile. "Sounds like you remember more than just _some_ of my other faces. And you're right… I don't feel like an umbrella man. So, should we get off? There's more out there to see."

"Actually I really need to get a shower – and you need to tidy up my bedroom!"

"I thought you didn't want me going through your underwear?" he smirked.

She hit his arm. "What's the point, you've seen it already! You can put it away and commit any you like to memory because you're never going to see it again!"

"Is that a challenge?" he hooked an eyebrow at her.

She didn't know how to reply, she opened her mouth once or twice and finally said "I… I'm going to shower."

"Good, you are starting to generate an odour."

She threw the hand towel from the rail in the bathroom at him "You're rude!"

"Is that what I am this time around? Rude." He clicked his tongue thoughtfully and she rolled her eyes as she disappeared into the bathroom. Maybe he hadn't really changed that much, not underneath anyway. This wasn't the same kind of playfulness his other face had – this was more… mature, less childish and carefree. Joking about her underwear? That was more serious than any kind of flirting his previous self had bantered with – even if that face had slapped at her rear a few times, it always felt like childish play between best friends. But now…

Clara bit her lip as she got undressed and stepped under the hot spray of the shower. While she might be grieving for her bow tie wearing best friend there was something about this new face that had her standing up to attention. She wasn't sure if it was the way his gaze could go from icy cold to heated and predatory in a second, or if it was the way his every words now had her full attention – the accent rolling the 'r's in a way that caused her toes to curl. Honestly it was a good job he was insistent on calling her by that god awful nickname rather than her first name or she'd never pay attention to whatever else he was saying.

After a quick shower Clara got out and wrapped herself in one of the fluffy white towels that had been saved from the Doctors ransacking by being hidden in the boiler cupboard. It was warm when she wrapped it around herself, so she felt to need to hurry and go to her bedroom and get dressed. Wrapped in the towel still she put away the things he'd investigated in the bathroom and brushed her teeth – just a little concerned that she couldn't hear him out in the bedroom tidying up. He'd better not have left her with that mess she thought as she rinsed her mouth.

When she finally emerged from the bathroom (getting hit with a wall of cold air since for some reason he'd opened the bedroom window) she was pleased to find it was clean and tidy – he'd even put some order to the make-up that was usually just thrown about on her vanity.

Then she spotted something on her bed – and her smile slipped. She wasn't sure if she should be amused, angry or embarrassed, but she felt all three of the emotions flooding her at the exact same time as she picked up blue lace panties with little bows that would rest on her hips and a note.

The note was written in elegant and yet somehow untidy writing:

_'If you want my opinion Oswin, I rather like these ones.'_

Oh so that's what he was this time around. Not grumpy. Not rude. She smiled wryly, no, this time around he was an infuriating bastard.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Now as everyone should have seen I am re-writing this story so its best to start from the beginning again as a few things have been tweaked, cut or added. Hope you enjoy the new turns x _**

**_Chapter Three_**

She had concluded while getting dressed – she skipped the 'suggested' underwear laid out by the Doctor, but she did put them in the bag over things she was going to take with her on the TARDIS- that the Doctor had gone back to the TARDIS. After his cheekiness she decided to make him wait as she tidied her apartment up completely before she locked up and ventured down the stairs – bumping into her neighbour again and having a brief chat about her Christmas.

She half dreaded the TARDIS to be gone when she arrived back down on the street keeping her eyes out for would-be muggers again (which actually reminded her to thank the Doctor) she was thankful that the blue box was waiting for her and could swear she felt an almost answering telepathic hum when she touched the blue wood and entered.

The TARDIS of course had remodelled at some point that night. She rather liked it, though wondered a little at the sudden dullness of lights – the lights that where there where mostly red basking the console room in a sort of comforting darkness. The walls around the room where lined with shelves and shelves of books – and the Doctor was sitting in a leather high backed armchair that had appeared by the shelves. He didn't appear to notice her so she took the time to take a good look at him now he'd changed clothes.

His outfit this time seemed unassuming so far, he'd paired a simple pair of black trousers with a white shirt that he'd left unbuttoned at the top, and she noticed with some delight that he'd kept the waistcoat look even if he'd swapped his Victorian tweed one for a more modern plain black one. He was lacing up what she was amused to see where probably a pair of doc marten boots and had a pile of coats scattered beside him, three of which had been pulled out of the pile which she assumed where his narrowed down choices.

"Nice boots" she said as she walked up the stairs towards him. He looked up from his lacing to see her and smirked – she could almost hear him wondering about the little suggestion he'd left on her bed, not that she was going to make any comment on it. Let him wonder, she thought as her own smile twisted into a smirk too.

"Thank you. Be a good girl and choose me a jacket could you? I can't decide."

Clara distinctly remembered some of the jackets he'd worn in the past and through that maybe it was best she chose since he didn't seem capable of dressing himself without some quirk usually. Still she looked at the three coat's he'd chosen and didn't agree with any of them. She began to route her way through the pile of coats beside him and saw him frown. "Oswin. I had chosen these three…"

"Yeah but none of them really go with your outfit. Trust me." she said finding at the very bottom of the pile and almost underneath his chair a dark almost deep blue rather than dark navy blue blazer like jacket with a red inline that reminded her of the kind of jacket circus masters wore. She lifted it, considering it and finally handed it to him with a smile. "Try this."

He looked at the jacket sceptically but pulled it on anyway. She figured this was his kind of trust demonstration because usually when anyone made any comments on his clothes he rebuffed them – but now he was asking help forging his new outfit, which for the Doctor was usually apart of his identity. He gave a slight twirl – looked like he regretted it immediately – and shoved his hands in his pockets letting some of the red lining of the jacket flare. "Opinions?"

"Very… sophisticated." Clara smiled at him. She had been right to think that this new man defiantly looked more serious than his previous face – and now he had an outfit to match the serious air around his new face.

He seemed pleased with her assessment because he grinned again before he turned letting the jacket flare as he walked down the stairs and began to flick console buttons. "Well then Oswald, should we get going? What should be our first adventure? I know a planet where you can actually see each other aura – very interesting if a little personal. We could pop into the first new earth? An upside down waterfall – the universe is open to us Oswald, let's go see some stars!"

She grinned too, instead of actually replying she sat on the railing floor with her feet hanging over the edge and watched him fly the TARDIS noticing however that he was still not as smooth at flying her as he had been before. The TARDIS obviously agreed with her assessment of his flying because she kept making the odd irritated groaning noise – to with the Doctor would throw an irritated glare at the centre column.

Now that she could actually sit down and watch him in his element she realised that while he was defiantly vastly different from the boy she had run away with, there were some familiarity in the way he strode around the console room and the mischievous glint his face got when he grinned at her.

But other than that she couldn't really find the other face within this new one or the personality. So far this Doctor had been somewhat suggestive, rude, aloof and physically manhandled her in a way that had shocked them both – something his predecessor had never done. It was clear to her that this new face was angry, a deep rage bubbling just under the skin and ready to be used to lash out at any wrong words. She wanted to know _why_, because she wasn't sure it had all to do with being stuck on Trenzalore.

Something on her face must've shown her thoughts because she noticed he'd stopped walking around and was staring up at her as he leaned on the console. He was frowning too – though that might just be his eyebrows now. She'd have to get used to him frowning all the time. "What?" she asked with her own frown.

"Your face was doing a thing." His frown increased.

"A thing?"

"You looked happy but your eyes where different… sad. How can someone so small contain two such conflicting emotions?" he sounded genuinely curious and in awe.

"Emotions are funny like that." She shrugged dismissively not wanting to let him know her thoughts. "It doesn't matter how big a person is for their emotions to be so strong or different."

"That's true." He nodded thoughtfully. "Children tend to have lots of conflicting emotions but that is usually something to do with the development of their young minds." He looked at her again sharply though, laser glare fixing her accusingly. "But you are the one I was focusing on. You miss the _other _me don't you?"

"Doctor I've seen all the different '_you's_' out there." She shrugged "I won't lie, I know some of my echoes even became emotionally attached to you before they died. It almost feels like I am used to this change."

He looked at her thoughtfully. "Where you emotionally attached to the foppish man child?"

She thought about it with a frown. "Not in the way you're thinking." She confessed.

He nodded thoughtfully, apparently pleased with her reply. "Then why are you so sad?"

She shrugged "I'm not you, I can't just go with that change and act like nothing has happened. I guess I just have to grieve over your other self, while trying to figure out this new you too."

He looked surprised at that, apparently it was a reply he had never thought about. "Why? Did you grieve for my other faces?"

She shrugged again not looking at him. "In a way, yes."

That seemed to surprise him even more. He didn't know if he should thank the tiny slip of a girl sitting looking awkward on his railing or if there was anything else he should say. So he opted for saying nothing instead turning has back on her and started flicking buttons on the TARDIS controls looking for an appropriately distracting thing to show her. While he searched he wondered what else he could do to get rid of this sudden awkwardness after her confession.

"I do believe the TARDIS has redecorated your room so you may want to check on that – and a few other rooms just to acquaint yourself with the new layout."

"New layout" Clara laughed with a roll of her eyes but she stood thankful for a reason to leave the room after her confession. "She just moves things anyway – likes her games, guess it must get rather boring for her when we're just drifting."

The Doctor watched her as she left, when she'd gone he let out a sigh leaned on the console again considering the impossible girl that had stuck with him.

Not that he wasn't grateful that she'd decided to stay. He was different this time around he knew it. He could feel the anger, the frustration bubbling just under the skin of him this time and knew, he just knew, it was going to be difficult to be the same man he was before. He was going to need Clara and her strong sense of right and wrong – she was the beauty to his beast and always had been even before either of them knew it.

Did he wish she didn't have to be his guide? Of course. He wished he could still be her fun Doctor, her dashing young man who was utterly bewildered and astounded by everything around him, the one that could flirt shamelessly back with her in a teasing manner as well as touch her, hug and comfort her and though he hadn't really tried he knew he could do that this time around. It was the one message that had passed through him during the difficult regeneration, imprinted on both his hearts; _protect Clara_. It was what had enabled him to wake just briefly after he passed out in the TARDIS console room enough to help her get him standing – it was what compelled him to break that healing sleep that he needed after a difficult regeneration to protect her against those stupid thug kids.

He ran both his hands down his face, he could not allow his emotions to get in the way. He could not hurt Clara any more than he could allow anything else to hurt her – that was his priority. And he knew the greatest thing to guard her from would be, of course, himself. Something had happened at the point of his regeneration – he wasn't sure what had changed, but he knew the chin-boy before him had a school boys crush on Clara. That loving adoration for her masked and yet betrayed by his flirting comments and joking. But he didn't have that now. Now he had a burning passion lit in him, a yearning. Maybe it was true the theory that Timelord's imprinted on the first thing they saw after their regeneration – but it had still happened quickly enough to startled him. Even with his addled mind before he truly remembered her he'd been attracted to her. Her wide deep brown eyes always looked soft and welcoming to him, a comfort in the darkness, her skin looked smooth and creamy as if begging for him to touch, her hair fared no better as its silky strands practically invited his hands to touch it. Yet what really got him was her little mouth, wickedly curved even when pulled into the most serious frown – and so deliciously tempting when pulled into a smirk or grin.

He couldn't possibly act on his emotions. He slammed a lever on the TARDIS harder than he meant too and she made a noise in protest that he ignored. He risked not just Clara's hearts, but his own and while he was not new to heart-break he wouldn't willingly subject himself to the feeling – and certainly not Clara.

So why had he gone through her things? Of course he'd known it was passing the boundaries between them – but he _wanted_ to pass those. He wanted her to get used to him passing them, because apart of him planned to pass them a lot more in the future. He'd been genuinely surprised by her choice of underwear when he'd accidentally found the draw and couldn't resist just a little snoop – he really hadn't pegged her for lace and bows, and he'd been very smug to notice the amount of blue editions she owned.

She hadn't mentioned his little note on her bed – he wondered what she'd thought of it. Did she just think him rude? Had she not mentioned it because she was not interested? No… he smirked again, there had been a tell-tale in her own smirk after she smiled at him – maybe she was teasing him, maybe she had wanted him to bring it up. Maybe… she was actually wearing them. He felt himself burn at the idea of her allowing him to choose her undergarments, more than a little bit of him had a primal thrill at the idea of it.

No, no, no another side of him scolded his lust for the young woman. She'd risked so much for him already, he had no right to be asking for her heart as well.

_And what if she wanted to give you her heart_? That little voice in his mind asked, inspiring just a little hope in his mind before he stubbornly stomped it out. He'd seen his appearance in her vanity mirrors – if she was going to fall for a face it certainly wasn't this one, not only did he look his age (and old enough to be her father or forbid her grandfather) but his attitude was not one that could win over Clara's heart either, this new anger under his skin burning him from the inside out and ready to lash out at the first copper rod stuck out in his personal lightning storm. She deserved so much better than him…

He bit down in his lip hard enough to draw blood while one had ran through his hair in frustration at his own conflicting mind. Time would draw it out, he thought in the end and fleet himself relax. Yes if there was one thing he knew it was time, time could change him and the situation. Maybe these feelings for Clara where fleeting, maybe these feelings of anger where fleeting – who knew? Time changes things, it is a great element of time the way she could change. He sat down in the leather chair and relaxed more as Clara returned to the room – he watched her eyes scan the console room not seeing him at first, but when she finally did her eyes met his and she smiled, running up the steps to lean on the railing in front of him.

"So Doctor, what'll be our first adventure?"


	4. Chapter 4

**_Now as everyone should have seen I am re-writing this story so its best to start from the beginning again as a few things have been tweaked, cut or added. Hope you enjoy the new turns x _**

**Chapter Four**

Clara did not understand what had happened. One minute they had landed in a very peaceful village where you could see aura's – an amazing spectacle of colours hovering around their heads, she'd made a joke about the _Sims_ games that was completely lost on the Doctor. They socialised for a while- but of course the Doctor became aware that something was not quite right, the aura's of the locals where tinged with fear and worry. He'd swiftly ditched her (much to her annoyance) only to shake her awake later that night as she slept in the tent generously loaned to them by the locals and insist that they had to leave, his own aura an angry swirl of red and blue and purple representing emotions she later figured where anger, sadness and worry. They saw no one as they left in the TARDIS and Clara was almost afraid to approach the angry Doctor glaring furiously at the console.

Sure enough when she approached and placed a hand on the Doctors arm he flinched like she'd burned him and stepped away with a wild angry and wary look on his face – like a startled cat. She frowned a little in confusion at his reaction. "Doctor…"

"Don't!" he snarled harshly moving so the entire console was between them. They both felt the TARDIS hum angrily, Clara felt the time machine mentally brush her mind and push her forward lightly not that she needed the encouragement she knew exactly who she was and what she was supposed to do. It had been repetitively repeated into her head so often it was like a motto by now. _I was born to save the Doctor – and that's exactly what I'm going to do_. She curled her fists now steeling herself for what was probably going to become an argument.

"Why?" she snapped right back in a way she'd never really done with his other face so wasn't too shocked when she saw a flittering of surprise pass through the Doctors eyes. "What happened back there? What made you so angry?"

"Nothing to concern you Oswin." He snapped right back.

"Yes it is."

"No it really isn't, so leave it alone." He glared at her over the console.

"Am I just a stupid travel companion with you now then?" she stalked towards him around the console getting increasingly frustrated when he moved away from her always keeping the console between them though he never did take his eyes off her. "Not worth the time to stop and explain? Does this new Doctor just want a human _pet_?" she spat the word.

"Don't be stupid girl." He spat back just as angry if not more.

"Then why won't you explain why you just had us dash out of that planet like a bat out of hell?" she had her hands on her hips now and her voice was a tone she'd never used before and she hoped she'd never use again.

"Because I'm trying to protect you!" he whirled around now the red of his coat flashing like the hood of an angry snake about to strike as he suddenly moved so they were barely a hairs breath apart when he'd been so careful previously to keep the console between them. "I am trying to keep you out of danger this time around Oswin, unlike that bow-tie wearing idiot who so foolishly placed you, you who are so fragile, in danger so, so many times…"

"And who are you to decide what danger I should be kept out of?" she hooked an eyebrow at him and tried to cross her arms but found she couldn't because he was standing far to close and they both refused to move out of the others personal space.

"I am the Doctor" he hissed at her, though it was not in an unkind way she noticed. "I am a two-thousand year old timelord and I think that gives me far more than a little experience to exercise some power over a – what are you now, twenty nine? Year old human."

She was a little offended he didn't know her age exactly but didn't mention anything. Hell he probably already knew. Instead she had geared herself up to get just as annoyed with him. "And I am Clara Oswald, the girl who jumped into _your_ time stream and ripped herself apart to save your lives countless times so yeah I might still be human and my body might still be young but my memories are _anything but_ naïve."

"An incident that was also the man-child's fault." He sniffed.

"This is not a competition!" she wanted to hit him but resisted. "I have no idea why you have this sudden desire to upstage your last self but it is getting pretty tiring very quickly. You need to trust me Doctor, trust that I am not about to get myself into trouble."

He gave a harsh laugh "Oh yes trust the inquisitive human not to get into trouble when that appears to be all your species can do…"

She heaved a sigh – the insulting species thing was not really new, but he was doing it more frequently. "Doctor…" she said softly this time raising her hands to his chest, hovering in the air before she actually touched him in case he would jump back again. He didn't, instead he seemed to go stiff under her touch and continued to frown down at her. "What happened out there?"

For a few moments he said and did nothing, she was about to remove her hands as a lost cause when he sighed suddenly and his own hands came up and covered hers holding them tighter to his chest as she felt the rhythmic double beat of his hearts. "They were dying and I couldn't bring myself to care." He confessed without looking at her, staring instead at the TARDIS engine slowly pumping up and down in silence. "And when I tried to help, I made it worse."

Vague and unspecific but Clara got the gist of what had happened and though was still unclear why they had to leave so quickly. She considered words of comfort, but this man did not seem to accept any kind of comfort, and instead tried her best to give him an explanation. "You just changed a few days ago. You cannot expect yourself to be firing on all cylinders already."

"I have done previously, this is no excuse." He retorted, though he seemed distracted and his thumbs brushed absentmindedly over her wrists.

"I do have some memories of those times and you have had help." She retorted, but kept her voice soft. "You need to let me help you. You need to trust me."

"I do trust you Oswin…" he sighed, almost a defeated sound. "I just…" his voice failed him and he just shook his head.

"You're worried." Clara guessed. She also guessed that he was afraid but knew if she voiced that thought he would wheel back to defensive. She was just toeing the line with 'worried' and she knew it. He looked irritated to admit it as he nodded, frown increasing. "You don't have to be – and I don't expect you to take my word for it either. Just… trust me, you'll get better."

He didn't look convinced but he squeezed her hands and nodded. "I trust you Oswin. You're my companion, my impossible girl…"

It took her a second to realise what he was doing when she felt the whisper of something across her mind. The Doctor had not entered her mind more than a handful of times – not even after her memories had been addled by jumping into his time stream and she'd been unable to sort out for weeks what memories where hers or an echoes – waking up screaming every night remembering a thousand of your own deaths. Oddly the one who in the end had helped her to sort through those memories had been the TARDIS – the old ship and managed to dig into her mind and tidy everything away quite neatly. Why she'd done it when she'd been so spiteful to Clara in the past was still a mystery. So when she felt the unfamiliar brush of his alien mind her first instinct was to recoil, build up those mental walls to block her mind from him, but when a name she'd once forgotten flitted through her she was too stunned to continue building those walls and heard herself let out a small "Oh…" sigh involuntarily.

She looked up and saw his meaningful look, the reason why he'd brought that name to the forefront of her mind when all other times he demanded she forgot it. "I do trust you." He insisted, leaning forward to press a brief kiss to her temple. Not once since regenerating had he kiss her head like his old face – but he did keep stealing these almost possessive kisses.

Clara smiled, turning her hands against his chest to squeeze his fingers before she took a step back scared by the sudden desire she'd had to stand up on her tip-toes and kiss him. "I trust you too." she cleared her throat. "Cup of tea?"

He took a step back too, half turning to face the console he smiled too. "A cup of tea would be lovely Oswin."

Weeks went by since that argument about trust and while the Doctor surely was not the same as he once had been, the one with the answer to any problem, he was getting better – but only with her as his moral compass she realised as she lay on her back in the middle of a carpet in the library in front of a roaring fireplace. The Library had many little nooks like this but this one in the far left corner was by far her favourite – probably because the shelves that hid her from the view of anyone else was filled with her favourite books.

She was pointedly avoiding the Doctor after yesterday she'd realised he _enjoyed_ arguing with her. She'd thought he was just honestly that disagreeable this time around but in the middle of an argument she'd noticed his eyes where alight and his lips kept twitching at the corners as if he was holding back a grin and it hit her that he'd deliberately baited her into arguing. Once she'd realised he enjoyed it she'd promptly shut up and left the console room and hadn't seen him since.

She rolled her eyes knowing he was probably sitting in the console room waiting for her to come ask him what planet they'd head too next because she was bored in the TARDIS. Usually it took a few hours – she wasn't ashamed to admit that – but today she was determined to stick out her waiting game.

As If summoned by her thoughts Clara heard the Doctor enter the Library and though she was inclined to completely ignore her presence, the sound of him stumbling and tripping over suddenly and a sudden burst of melodic alien language bursting forth from his mouth made her sit up just to peer over the short bookshelf and see he'd tripped over his own bootlaces.

"What language was that?" she asked, a slight smug grin graced her face when she realised he'd jumped obviously not knowing about her hiding place.

He gave her an irritated look. "So you're talking to me again?"

Now it was her turn to be irritated. "Well now I'm not" and she lay back down again on her belly this time trying to focus on the book in front of her and ignore him.

Of course he couldn't just leave it at that. A slight smug grin tugging his lips as he selected a random book from the shelf and invaded her nook. He had to stop at first, something about the sight of Clara lay on her front in front of a roaring fire on an ancient looking rug was just so domestic that it made him pause, remember that in his life had no real place for domesticity – they didn't tend to hold up well in the run-for-your-life style he inflicted upon himself. He shook himself from those thoughts and pulled a pillow onto the floor joining her on the floor close enough that she had to move over to make room for her – an irritated from on her face as she was clearly annoyed with him still.

Eventually her temper got the better of her – as it always did. "Excuse me but are you _trying_ to sit on me?"

He was momentarily smug that he'd been able to draw out that snapping anger from her again, revelling in the spark it brought to her face – the fire in her eyes when she was truly angry was something he shamelessly enjoyed. "Not my fault if someone is taking up all the space." He retorted without looking at her preferring to concentrate on the book in his hand – he'd read the novel before so it took him half the usual time to skim the page and turn to the next one.

"All the space?" she scoffed "There's a whole library – no wait a _whole ship_ and you choose to sit with me, so I think this has more to do with you wanting some company."

"Or perhaps I was trying to bait you into talking to me."

She turned her head to actually look at him now as she glared – her stare was hard and accusing. "Well I'd be happier to talk to you if you didn't always try baiting me into an argument."

She watched his face carefully but if he was surprised she'd figured out what he was doing during all those arguments he didn't show it, instead he favoured her maybe a second long sideways glance before her turned back to reading impossibly fast through his book. "It's not my fault if you're too sensitive to have a conversation without snapping at me."

"At what point of a conversation with you pointing out all my apparent flaws was I supposed to enjoy speaking with you and not argue to defend myself?" she had completely abandoned her book now, whole attention on him as she tapped a finger moodily on the floor.

"I didn't know you'd take offence to being called a control freak since you are one."

He glared and bit her lip refusing to have the same argument with him. However a part of her could not resist having the final word. "You're an ass."

"I thought I was rude?"

"You're a rude ass."

"Now _that's_ offensive."

"No that is the truth – how was I supposed to know you'd take offence?" she retorted with a raised eyebrow, satisfied when he finally put the book down to glare at her. She eventually sighed looking at the ground before she looked up at him again. "Why did it become so hard to talk to you?"

"I changed."

"I know that. But… you're my best friend still. It shouldn't be this hard just to have a conversation." She released a sigh again that sounded genuinely sad, surprising him.

If he was honest he had noticed his grumpiness, his callousness and the ease of which he threw insults now but he hadn't thought much else had changed. Now that she pointed it out he could see it, the way he pushed her away with every word that came out of his mouth. "I… I'm sorry." The words sounded hollow and ghost like in his mouth – and he saw her frown like an apology was the last thing she expected. He looked away from her, finding her wide brown eyes painful when he realised he'd actually hurt her feelings. "I don't know why I do that. Guess I really am a cankerous old git this time around…"

He moved to stand but she grabbed his hand keeping it on the floor. He looked at her then, surprised especially when he found her expression to be a soft smile. "It's okay. You might be a cranky old git by your my cranky old git." She laughed – seeing him smile too – so she carried on "just if you want to have a conversation why don't you try actually talking rather than just baiting me into an argument?"

His turn to smile now, though it was only on his face briefly. "Because you're a rather formidable opponent during any kind of debate." He watched her take the compliment with surprise and then added "And I'm not entirely sure what to talk about."

She considered that. "Why don't you try asking me a question?"

He frowned, going quite, finally he asked quietly. "If you could see any musician in human history in concert, who would you see?"

She smiled and answered without hesitation "Mozart. I especially liked Requiem."

She could see her answer intrigued him – he'd obviously not pegged her for a classical fan, and though she usually wasn't there was a particular part of her that was fond of that singular piece of music – and she wasn't going to tell him that she had the vague suspicion that one of her echo's had been involved with Mozart somehow.

The TARDIS landed them in a strange new city on one of the several new earths. Clara had promptly teased him about his inability to calculate exactly which new earth this was and now he wasn't talking to her – though he seemed to have gotten his own brand of petty revenge by accidentally spilling some modern aged juice drink all over her jacket completely ruining the white clothing and forcing her to bin it. Now she was left walking around in just her loose white shirt and red skirt.

"I feel under dressed." Clara hissed at the Doctor as she noticed more than a few looks from their peers and how this age seemed to have regressed into Victorian clothing again.

"Yes well you are a bit." He seemed amused. "They probably assume your some kind of… physical worker."

"You mean they think I'm a prostitute?" she was horrified.

He was more amused than horrified and guided her with a hand on the small of her back into a building called '_ye olde pub'_ which ironically turned out to be something like a cross between a nightclub and a pub from her time. "Tsk, a completely new planet and we still haven't learned that putting an 'e' on the end of words doesn't make them old style?" she asked dryly as she sat in the booth he steered her too. He seemed amused by her assessment though.

There was some yelling form near the bar and they barely had much time to react before one man punched another prickly green looking fellow who – if they had been in her time – Clara would have assumed was on steroids. The man the green one punched was sent flying backwards, tripping through several chairs and causing a bar fight to erupt in which she saw he got punched several more time's by completely different people.

Clara edged as far into the wall as she could casting a look to the Doctor as she worried her lip and was startled for just a second to see he was no longer sitting opposite her – until she felt him slide into the seat beside her, placing himself between her and the increasingly violent fight. Even sitting beside him she could see his blue eyes where train on the fight as if he could see every single movement a second before it happened – maybe he could, she didn't know much of what he could or couldn't do. She saw his lips moving briefly, if she hadn't been staring intently she would have assumed it was a twitch until she realised he was mouthing words – mouthing predicted movements of the fight he was watching. His concentration was amazing, captivating Clara into focusing on him instead of the fight which meant she jumped and screamed just a little when a man was thrown onto his back on their table.

He groaned a little, eyes closed looking stunned. The force of which he hit the wood table would probably have winded him. The Doctor had moved a hand briefly to settle on the small of Clara's back, and he just watched the man on the table with an amused smile – eyes flicking at Clara just once to check she was not too shocked. "Hello Jack. More than a thousand years since I've last seen you and you still cannot go into a bar without causing a fight?"

The man on the table suddenly snapped his eyes open – they were blue just like the Doctors but while the Doctors where cold as ice, this man had warm baby blues, they sought out the Doctor and focused on him with confusion and unrecognition but there was a curiosity there still. When his eyes found Clara peering at him with wary frown that curiosity lit up completely and he gave a flirty wink and smile. "Well, you know me but I am at a loss for who you are – but I think your friend is rather gorgeous." He had a brash American accent, which surprised Clara since by this time in the future most accents had been diluted.

Still she frowned a bit more worried as the man – Jack's – gaze raked her up and down as he sat up on their table the bar fight seemingly forgotten behind him and she remembered the Doctors earlier comment on her apparently provocative dress. "Uh Doctor I assume you know him?" she asked eyeing the stranger once more before flicking her gaze to the Doctor. She'd barely noticed the hand on the small of her back move to drape around her shoulders possessively until she saw the Doctors set jaw and challenging glare aimed at Jack.

Jack stopped his appraisal of Clara (apparently he'd not noticed the Doctors glare) to look at the Doctor now with surprise and delight. "Doctor? Well isn't this just delightful how long has it been since I last saw you?" Jack slid into a seat opposite the Doctor and Clara relaxed a bit, she'd begun to feel uncomfortable under Jacks stare.

"Sometime in the twenty-first century with my tenth regeneration." The Doctor replied and Clara raised her eyebrows at the amount of time passed between the pair – which was when her memories of Jack Harkness returned – though she remembered him as a young adult about to be shot for his cockiness before he echo had intervened, thankfully enough time had passed and the contact between them had been so brief that she doubted he remembered the echo.

Jack didn't fail to catch the Doctors words and asked "So which regeneration is this? Don't tell me I missed a pretty face of yours!"

"My twelfth – but you're lucky not to have met the previous idiot I was. The man wore a bow tie and couldn't walk past a fez without donning the ridiculous head ware." Was the Doctors dry reply – and he didn't look at Clara as he said it, after their conversation in the library he'd become aware that it hurt her when he insulted his past self – but he couldn't seem to help it, some part of him hated the bow tied boy for getting Clara's heart in a way he was sure he never could, even if she told hit it wasn't true. It was a complicated kind of hate, and he tried not to dwell on it too much.

"Yes he replaced that face with this grumpier version." Clara quipped him unexpectedly drawing Jack's attention back to her.

Jack smiled at her, noting her irritation with the Doctor for insulting his past face he made the assumption that she'd travelled with the past face as well as the new one. "Well" he said trying to make a light joke of it. "Regeneration is a gamble – maybe _something_ isn't quite what it was and he's feeling a bit mad about it." Jack looked down at the table where underneath was undoubtedly the Doctors crotch before he looked back and Clara with a wink – and was rewarded with her amused smile.

The Doctor of course was not so amused – he wasn't sure he managed to suppress the blush as he practically growled and turned to Jack with a furious expression. "For your information _everything_ about this regeneration in perfectly fine – _better _than just fine in fact!"

"I'd like to see that." Jack's gaze lingered in the southern regions flirtily before he raked his gaze back up to the Doctors. Clara had to give the Doctor credit, his furious glare remained unwavering and she knew if it had been her she'd have either slapped Jack, flirted back and faked uninterested or become a puddle under those baby blue's. She'd like to think she could remain as indifferent as the Doctor but knew it was a lie.

"Well as lovely as it was to see you again Jack." The Doctor said moving to leave "I promised dear Oswin here I would show her something amazing or something exciting and since you are neither we really should be going."

Clara thought she could argue that in some ways Jack probably was exciting, and a man who came back to life was defiantly amazing, but she kept her mouth shut knowing the Doctor would not like her input and that she'd only increase Jack's already enormous ego.

"Wait!" Jack called behind them as they tried to get through the now calm crowed of people. "I can show you something. There's something going on around here, bodies showing up after they've been… dissected."

That made the Doctor stop and turn on his heel – a suspicious glint in his eye. Clara had accidentally walked into his back and remained pressed against him as larger people moved around them and she tried to avoid touching someone while there was still hostility in the air fearing she could accidentally cause another fight – the Doctor didn't have such qualms as he stood in the middle of two tables blocking the pathway between the two tables.

"Why should I care if someone is going around dissecting others?" the Doctor asked – the dare was clear in his voice, he was daring Jack to get him interested.

"Well I'm pretty sure it is some alien race dissecting humans – searching for a biological weakness." Jack shrugged, but he looked a little smug seeing the obvious intrigue on the Doctors face – so he continued. "I have heard threats on these streets – not all species are happy that humans are advancing. They'd rather banish us to our home planet, and are quite happy to wipe the humans that 'escaped' earth off their planets."

By the time Jack had stopped talking the Doctor had returned to his seat opposite Jack – dragging Clara with him.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Now as everyone should have seen I am re-writing this story so its best to start from the beginning again as a few things have been tweaked, cut or added. Hope you enjoy the new turns x _**

**Chapter Five**

Clara came conscious with a sudden start, jerking awake she promptly hit her head off something just a few centimetres away from her head. She reached her hands out finding she had only limited arm movement before she was stopped by the sides of whatever she was stuck in. As if to make matters worse she then realised that she was not alone and was in fact lying on top of another body.

Oh god why did her mind have to say body? She bit her lip and dearly hoped whoever she was lying on was actually alive. She became aware of her breathing getting shallower and faster as panic and claustrophobia started to set.

"Oswin?" the body underneath her moved slightly a spoke with a slight groan making her assume they'd just woken up too. She was almost relived to realise it was the Doctor underneath her (if a little self-conscious suddenly) but it did nothing to stop her rising panic as she slowly came to realise the scent of dirt and earth around them was a good indicator they were quite possibly buried alive somewhere.

The Doctor became aware of their predicament too – though he was probably far too concerned about the fact Clara's soft body was lay flush on top of his and he could feel every heave of her breast against his chest when she took a breath. Which was how he became aware of her panic. "Osw-"he thought better of the name. "Clara, please you can't panic now okay?" he murmured it softly, forgetting his promise not to touch her he brought his hands up from his sides to her waist holding her gently with one hand while the other smoothed down her back lightly in what he hoped was a comforting way – and he tried to ignore the feel of her soft warm skin against the hand at her hip where her shirt had rode up some of the way, or the teasing lingering thought that she was probably still wearing that short red skirt and that if he trailed his hand down again he would probably brush the soft bare skin of her thigh, and his memory wandered back to the fact she enjoyed lace panties and bows and he wondered if she was wearing a pair like that now. He bit the inside of his cheek tightly to stop himself thinking down that road.

She didn't speak to him (which was probably a good thing) but she nodded and he felt her try to control her breathing – though it was some time until she was breathing steadily in which she had moved so her face was buried in the side of his neck and the Doctor had stopped his ministrations on her back in favour of clenching his fist in frustration with his own bodies desires towards the obviously frightened girl on top of him.

There was a sudden thud from their left side that caused them both to jump. The noise came again – followed by a familiar brash and now outraged voice.

"I'm sorry Clara." The Doctor whispered suddenly.

"What for?" she breathed onto his neck and he nearly jumped.

"This." He sucked in a breath and bellowed "_Jack Harkness will you calm the hell down and be quiet so I can think of a way to get us out of this mess_!"

Clara had jumped at his bellowing, unable to lift her arms high enough to cover her ears she'd made an attempt to bury her head further into him – and froze when she felt his hand tighten on her hip to stop her moving at all. When had his hand slipped under her shirt? And how had she not noticed the surprisingly soft skin of his hand on hers?

She didn't have time to dwell on it though. The banging next to them stopped and they heard that familiar accent call a muffled "Doctor? Is Clara with you?"

"Yes she's with me – she's going to be fine." The Doctor spoke softer this time ducking his chin a bit to feel the top of her head reassuringly. She was being oddly quiet.

Even buried alive Jack couldn't resist some snark. "You would be lucky enough to get buried alive in close quarters with a lovely young lady pressed against you!"

The Doctor felt Clara's pulse increase again against him. "Jack can you please not remind her where we are. I'm trying to keep her calm." He called back completely irritated.

"Sorry. Any idea how to get out of this?"

The Doctor removed his hand from Clara's waist – immediately he missed the warmth of her skin and he swore she shivered when the contact left – and he knocked experimentally on the side of their… coffin. He let out a sigh of relief when he felt the familiar surface of glass. "We're not in something wood so that's good – the sonic doesn't do wood." He grimaced as he bent trying to get the sonic out of his trouser pocket but was unable to get his arm to bend that way.

Clara noticed his predicament and despite her panicked mind knew he'd never ask for her help – especially when it involved getting something out of his trouser pocket of all places. So she moved without asking and knew the exact moment he realised what she was doing because he froze and went stiff against her. "Clara…" his tone was a warning one, but one she didn't heed and she moved her hand into his pocket and searched for the familiar cold metal of the sonic.

It took her longer than expected and she realised the Doctor was holding his breath so she tried to make a joke and diffuse the tension. "How can you have this much crap in your pockets?" she asked, her voice sounding far breathier than she'd meant it too.

She was a little surprised to find his voice was just as breathy as hers. "Bigger on the inside technology" was the answer he gave softly, then he shifted a little under her before he said with an expression she knew was sheepish. "Also, the sonic is in the _other_ pocket."

Clara blushed horribly and was glad it was too dark for him to see. "Why didn't you tell me!" she hissed moving she was able to reach into his other pocket and remove the sonic passing it into his hand instead.

"Well you appeared to be having too much fun for me to stop you…" he teased before he cleared his throat and began to sonic around the box. The green light from the tip of the sonic illuminated the dark somewhat allowing the other to get a glimpse at their blushes and know the other was just as embarrassed. "We don't appear to be too deep. Four foot rather than the usual six – if I smash the box we should be able to dig ourselves to the surface before you suffocate."

She hesitated, the idea of being buried alive was just as unappealing as the idea of being suffocated by four feet of dirt. "Are you sure?"

He hesitated too, then nodded. "Yes, and if not… the lovely Madame Vastra taught me some ways to share oxygen."

Curiosity overcame her. "Share oxygen, how?"

He bit his lip. "Not the time Clara."

"Oh right." She saw him pointing the sonic at the roof of their tiny confinement.

"Ready?"

She took a deep breath. "Ready."

He hit the button, the sonic lit up and the glass around them cracked and smashed allowing four foot of dirt to crash down upon them.

Clara suddenly felt like the deciding factor between whether Jack's fury at the Doctor was justifiable or not. The man had lost the warm, teasing flirtatiousness that was usually in his gaze when he turned to his friends and was instead replacing it with the cold hard stare that he usually reserved for his enemy's as he glared at the Doctor in the control room of the city's leading genetics laboratory.

She shuffled where she stood just out of the way of their matching glares and hoped the uncomfortable movement didn't bring attention to herself. What the Doctor had just done – the switch he had just flicked – had been brutal, cruel even, a level of cold-heartedness that Jack Harkness had obviously never seen the Timelord inflict and she desperately hoped that her opinion on the situation wouldn't be called upon because she couldn't come to terms with the struggling emotions within herself at that exact moment and was instead focusing on removing the large clumps of dirt from under her fingernails from their digging earlier.

"How could you do that?" Jack finally found his voice and it was just as outraged as his expression.

The Doctors face was equally hard set, jaw clenched and formidable eyebrows pulled down into a fierce frown. "Very easily, by just flicking this switch and releasing their experiments. I calculated all our other options Jack there was no other way for this to play out without risking something I'm not prepared to risk."

Jack did not look convinced. "When did you become so cold? You are not the Doctor – the Doctor I knew wouldn't give up until he found an alternative way, one that didn't end in the deaths of dozens."

"Well maybe that's why I am so cold this regeneration." The Doctor turned so he was facing neither of them – instead watching the surveillance camera that showed the now empty cells where the laboratory's experiments had been kept before he released them on their not so kind creators. "Maye this time around the universe needs a Doctor that isn't just going to stick a Band-Aid on the problems or pretend they don't exist or risk the lives of the innocent just so he can save the guilty too."

"You are not a judge, what gives you the right to give these people a sentence?" Jack hissed.

"When they refused to listen to reason, or threats!" the Doctor slammed a fist on the console in frustration causing Clara to jump and bite her lip. He was right – the natives of this planet had been trying to remove humans from their planet, creating blood thirsty beasts they could set on the humans though they had yet to find an appropriate gland or organ that was solely a human thing for the beasts to be programmed to hunt specifically – hence why they'd been dissecting humans. When they'd dug themselves back out of the glass boxes they'd been buried alive in and the Doctor confronted these aliens again they'd only laughed – the Doctors previous face had done too well a job in hiding his name from the universe apparently – he'd warned them, tried reasoning and threats until he was blue in the face.

Jack was frustrated, knowing the Doctor's other options had indeed been taken away but also unable to condone the actions he'd taken. Clara could see that in the way several emotions seemed to flit across the man's face at a time, the way his fists clenched and un-clenched at his sides. He caught her looking at him and she was afraid again he'd ask her what she thought but instead he shook his head jerkily once and strode angrily into the TARDIS behind them. She had a very large suspicion that when they went inside not only would Jack be gone, but the Vortex Manipulator she'd accidentally let slip they had too.

She waited maybe two or three minutes before she decided to approach the Doctor, standing just behind him on the raised platform. He didn't turn around but he knew she was there – she saw the way his first clenched further at her approach until the knuckles where mottled red and white.

"Are you going to start now too?" he asked her eventually after the silence became too much. Unlike the defensive hard tone he'd used with Jack his voice when he asked her was soft, resigned to whatever words she was about to give.

Clara hesitated before she answered just to be sure she actually believed what she was about to say. "No." she shook her head despite him not looking at her.

He was surprised at her answer – she'd always had such a strong sense of right and wrong, black and white, that he assumed she'd also agree with Jack- but when he turned around she was biting her lip, arms wrapped around her own waist and looking down at the ground. "It was the only option they gave you that didn't result in the deaths of all the innocent people outside of this facility." Clara continued with a very slight shrug, still not looking at him.

He gave a slow nod, still scrutinising the tiny woman who was covered in mud, dirt and cuts from glass and had probably reached the end of her emotional limit after being buried alive. She'd gone rather stoic even after they'd escaped – though he assumed the emotional strain on having to dig herself out from underground was too much on her human psyche. "Then why can't you look at me Oswin?" his voice sounded insecure even to him and though the part of him that wanted to push her away, lock everyone out and keep his emotions to himself demanded he should clear his throat and lash out some way he couldn't bring himself to do it.

She finally brought those wide brown eyes up to his though, and what he saw there wasn't disappointment or anger – it was worry. She frowned slightly and asked "Does this make us cruel? Does this make us bad people?"

That surprised him. That was the last thing he'd expected her to ask or even think about. He considered it too – there was no real answer to such a question, but he had to give her something to settle the pounding of her heart and the battling emotions in her mind. "I'm not sure." He confessed. "I… I think we're doing our best to be good Clara and that's all we can do. What I did today could be considered cruel, evil but I did it to save the lives of the innocent. I think it depends which side you look at, the view that yes I just caused the deaths of a few people or the view that I just saved a few hundred people from death."

Many things passed on her face then. Understating, grief and finally settled on anger and he waited for the telling off he knew he deserved – because Jack was right, his other regenerations would have searched and searched and searched for other ways, ones that wouldn't have such a high casualty rate but he knew that if he'd waited any longer those so-called scientists would have abducted another innocent from the street and dissected them too- and what if they had succeeded? They would release those monsters they created on the human's and set back space exploration for the human race by years.

However instead of telling him off, she clenched her fists at her side's and said in a hard voice "You shouldn't have had to do this. This… goes against your promise, 'never cruel or cowardly'."

He could see she was struggling to accept that sometimes the bad choice was the only choice – though she was doing a better job than Jack was. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and said softly "Sometimes the only choice left is the bad one, the cruel one."

"But why does the good man have to make the bad choice?" she frowned up at him.

He considered that, but the answer came easily to him so he replied softly. "Because if a bad man made the bad choice it would be for selfish reasons – for his own personal gain. I made the hard choice today to sentence some people to death at the hands of something they created – but if you think I won't be kept awake at night going over this in my head, puzzling if there was any other way this could have played out that would have resulted in a better outcome, one where no one dies, then you're wrong. Because this happens. Sometimes I can't save everybody and that is a hard truth that my other faces had a hard time accepting."

She was frowning up at him now. "Is that who you are this time? The man who accepts?"

He remembered vaguely then, like a ghost on the wind at the back of his mind the faces he had been. The man who regrets… the man who forgets… it was about time to be a man who accepted his actions. "The man who accepts. I like that. Yes, that's who I am now."

On the surveillance camera they saw the local authorities had finally arrived and where taking down the last of the experimental monsters and arresting the surviving scientists. The Doctor nodded at this though none of the authorities could actually see him, he'd called them in advance of his actions so they could arrive swiftly. He took Clara's hand and started to head for the TARDIS knowing they were no longer needed here and he'd rather get out of there before he had to explain more than twice what he'd done and why.

"I think I like the man who accepts better than the man who is a rude ass." She tried to joke but her voice wasn't into it – she was far to tiered and drained for trying to make light of a heavy situation. "Do you think Jack is still in there waiting for us?"

"I'm probably still a rude ass Oswin. And without a doubt Jack is still in there." He took the vortex manipulator out of his pocket and waved it at her as they passed through the ships blue doors. "When he's calmed down I'll give it to him – Jack has a lot of things to get up too yet, many people to save without or help and in his own… provocative way."

The Doctor wouldn't give Jack the Vortex Manipulator until he was sure the ex-time agent was going to be travelling with a sound mind. He was a fraction worried that Jack might actually try to head back to the facility and stop him opening the gates to those monsters, but he was confident that he'd taught him better than to truly mess with time – especially with your own time stream, or a time stream as complicated as the Doctors and Clara's.

Jack was in the TARDIS's medical bay with Clara. He was standing leaning on the bed opposite hers while she sat down still covered in dirt and cuts that still bled from their escape in the glass coffins. The Doctor had gone to fetch the vortex manipulator – finally – after Jack had calmed down.

"Do you really agree with what the Doctor did in that facility?" Jack asked with a frown having trouble believing Clara's ease with what had happened.

Clara frowned at Jack. "Agreeing with it and understanding it are two different things. I understand that there was no choice this time around – if there had been then I wouldn't agree with it."

Jack was surprised by her answer – he'd assumed she was too out of it to pay much attention to what was going on. He should have given her more credit obviously, the Doctor's companions where always more than they seemed – he was testament to that himself and he knew it. "Are you still mad at him about what happened?" she asked him in return.

Jack sighed "No, because your both right there wasn't another choice at the time – and he wasn't going to risk you or I becoming their next little dissection project. You more than me since I'd probably survive. Already survived something similar – funny story actually, see I forgot to call this lovely two headed lady back-"

"Jack I really don't think we need to know any more about this story." The Doctor returned, handing Jack the manipulator he glanced at Clara and said "Trust me, his stories are always far too graphic."

"Oh Doctor their only graphic when I'm trying to bait a reaction from you." Jack winked as he fasted the manipulator to his wrist. "You know I thought I lost this when I gave it to UNIT."

"Thanks for that – came in handy." Clara smiled and winked at Jacks curious face.

"Yes well, I'm full of handy devices." Jack winked as he finally got the manipulator on his wrist and clapped his hands together like he'd just found a lost limb. "Well Doctor, I wish I could say it's been fun-"

"Jack if you try kiss me again I'm not responsible for what time period you find yourself in." the Doctor warned taking a step back and bumping into Clara's bed as Jack approached him.

"Oh Doctor you always manage to spoil a goodbye!" Jack pouted, then turned to Clara.

"If you kiss her you'll be suffering equal punishment." The Doctor said, glaring at Jack rather than looking at Clara. Jack gave him a surprised look with a curiously raised eyebrow, he kept the Doctors challenging glare as he pressed a swift kiss to Clara's head in the friendly way his previous self had.

"Territorial, eh Doctor?" Jack smirked. "It was nice meeting you Clara, and this grumpy face of your Doctor. I assume I'll see you again?"

"Defiantly – but not this face." The Doctor smiled. "Goodbye Jack."

"Till the next time Doctor" Jack blew them both a kiss as he entered a date into the manipulator and was suddenly swallowed into the time vortex – the TARDIS made a horrible groaning noise obviously not liking Jack time hopping from inside her.

The Doctor walked up to one of her metal walls and patted it. "I know old girl – but the bad paradox man is gone." He cooed.

"Why wasn't Jack allowed to kiss me?" Clara smiled as she watched him stroke the TARDIS affectionately, but stiffen at her question.

"Because I said so Oswin." He said shortly, meeting her eyes with a hard glare of his own – such a serious one that she stopped smiling, and gulped a little.

"Now Oswin – we really should get you cleaned up!" he picked up a bowl from a counter on the side, and filled it with some odd alien purple water before he headed back to her. "Here clean yourself up with this, it's fantastic for removing something like mud."

"What is it?" she frowned as she smelt the water after dipping a cloth in it. It smelled familiar – like the vapour chest rub her mum had used on her when she was little and had a cold. She preferred to focus in the mud rather than the reasons behind the Doctor's possessiveness of her.

"Just some solution 6.7. It was invented by one of those fancy spa's to remove the hot mud from your body after a mud bath." The Doctor shrugged though she could see him since he was behind her now.

"Clever." Clara commented as she barely wiped a large blob of mud on her leg with the cloth and it came off without much trouble. She became aware of a tugging on her hair suddenly and turned, the Doctor was stood behind her holding a fine toothed comb. "What are you-?"

"There's glass in your hair – and mud. I was just combing the glass out, if you got in the shower like that you might accidentally shred your hands and well you humans aren't as fast healing as me and I don't want you to be complaining about your hands hurting for the next week."

"I think I'm going to be complaining about my everything else hurting for the next week." She mumbled turning back around and letting him comb her hair while she wiped the mud from her face and arms.

She wasn't even going to comment on how nice it felt to have someone else combing her hair – he was being so careful to not hurt her too even though she knew her hair was ratty and knotted he was gripping it softly but firmly near her scalp and slowly easing the knots and bits of glass and mud out without hurting her.

The Doctor was trying to ignore it too. The softness of her hair – despite its knotted condition – against his fingers as he slowly trained the hairbrush down making sure all the glass was out even when he knew it was gone. He couldn't resist carrying on well after he'd finished the job and when he realised he was just sat there combing her hair like she was a doll he cleared his throat nervously and forced himself too stop. "It's all out, but I should take a look at your cuts just to make sure none of them have too much dirt in them."

He moved around to her front, starting with the cuts on her legs. He resisted touching those, they were only minimal cuts always, until he found a larger laceration on the back of her right thigh. He told her to brace herself then, holding her thigh firmly but gently he used a cotton swab to clean the trapped dirt out of the wound. Her leg kicked out on reflex from the pain of course and she gave him a sheepish smile.

He stood up again, standing between her legs as he inspected further the cuts up her arms – none of which were worth worrying about – but he found another deep wound with dirt inside on her collar bone and he cleaned that too earning himself a hiss from Clara who hadn't stopped staring at him the entire time he was inspecting her body for wounds.

For her part Clara was trying not to react to his hands on her bare skin. She'd not really thought about the Doctor in a physical way, his last self had seemed to sexually oblivious for it no matter how much he flirted, but when this one touched her leg just to clean her wound she had a sudden flash back to being underground. The way her body had pressed into his, every hard plane of him pressed against her softness and the way he'd gripped her bare hip and ran a hand up and down her back as though the touches where nothing… but had made her much more aware that this Doctor was not the boy his other face had been, he was right about that much. This Doctor was a man, and he wasn't oblivious to her as a woman if the reaction his body had given when she'd been searching the wrong pocket for his sonic screwdriver – not that either of them had mentioned the part of him she'd obviously felt pressed against her, and they probably never will because despite everything he was still the Doctor who'd never broach the subject with her willingly – and she was feeling particularly embarrassed about it herself.

She realised the Doctor had stopped touching her but hadn't moved away. She looked up, expecting to see him talking and that she was just not listening again but instead when she looked up and saw his eyes she swore she saw a flash of something darker there but no… the Doctor didn't… the Doctor didn't do lust, and that was what she swore she saw before he stepped back two steps and cleared his throat loudly.

"Well. All the glass is out. You can probably go shower now without shredding your hands. Well. Off you go." He waved his hands at her to leave the room looking almost like his old self again – and despite waving for _her_ to leave he was the one who was walking out of the room.

Her face twisted into a brief smile finding his actions rather interesting.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Remember a while back I said I was re-writing this story so please if you didn't get the notice head back and at least skim read the rest of the chapters because some things have been cut and some things added or you might be a bit lost in the story. Thank you x **_

**Chapter Six**

They were sitting on a beautiful – but defiantly alien – beach when Clara's phone buzzed with a text. She was so unused to the phone by now that when she felt her pocket buzz she jumped visibly, gaining a frown again from the Doctor who was standing knee deep in the shallow ocean water catching fish with his bare hands for the entertainment of children on the shore. She had been dipping her toes into the refreshing water while sitting on the dock close by and when she saw his frown waved her phone at him with a sheepish smile in explanation for her startled jump.

She read the text:

_[Clara, hope your well. Your dad asked me to send this message because you haven't replied to his letters and you know how he hates these mobiles. Your father has decided he would rather elope for a quick wedding – so Linda and I have planned behind his back. I have your bridesmaid dress ready, you just need to be here on Saturday at 9AM. We'll show your dad how Oswald's always get married with style! Love Gran x  
>PS. I'll be very disappointed if you don't bring a plus one for the dance floor.]<em>

She couldn't help but smile at her grans sense of humour. She could defiantly imagine her father getting far too flustered with the whole wedding planning thing and decided he wanted to elope rather than cause too much fuss – and she could certainly see her gran and Linda conspiring against him. Still it did cause her to suddenly realise she'd almost forgotten to go home again – and that could be a dangerous thing to do around the Doctor. Still according to the text she'd only been out of contact for little over a month, and though she hated to admit it she wasn't very good at staying in contact with the family so this was fairly normal for her.

"Earth calling?" the Doctor had waded towards her in the water and pulled himself up onto the wood dock too, pulling a tiny alien fish off his toe as he came out of the water an cause Clara to frown in both amusement and disgust.

"Yeah just my gran. My dad wanted to elope for his wedding so my step mother and gran had planned a whole wedding behind his back. She wants me there ASAP and I'm to bring a plus one for the dance floor apparently. Do you mind if we go back to earth next?"

"Well that's the good thing about a time machine, it doesn't have to be your dad's wedding for you tomorrow. It could be the day your dad was actually born tomorrow if you decided that was the year you wanted to go to." He shrugged and lay back on the wood lazily. It was the most relaxed she'd seen him in a long time, trousers rolled up to his knees and sleeves rolled up to his arms he'd obviously removed his shoes, as well as his waistcoat and jacket and his hair was a mess compared to usual.

She chewed her lip. "I think I should go back for my dad's wedding as soon as possible though."

"But why? We have all the time in the world!" he smiled and said with a lazy tone.

"Because I'll know it is my dad's wedding in my time zone and I'll feel guilty about not going if I don't." she shrugged "It's the same as…eh… you know when I bake cookies and you can't help but eat all of them even though you said you'd save them for later? It's like that I guess. "

He frowned at her, obviously not liking her bringing up that bad habit of his. "I feel you have yet to grasp the concept of a time machine. You don't have to go tomorrow because tomorrow doesn't have to be _that _tomorrow."

Clara leaned back on the wood, holding herself up with her arms she looked down at the reclining Doctor with raised eyebrows. "I've been spending far too much time with you – I understood every single word you said."

The Doctor grinned again.

"But I still want to go see my dad tomorrow." She watched the grin fall off his face to be replaced with a sour look, so she tried to explain. "I don't want to forget to go."

The Doctor considered this as he watched the purple-grey sky bathed in the pink and yellow light of the setting twin suns. "Well, you humans do have a limited memory capacity. Maybe it would be best."

Clara smiled at his begrudging agreement but didn't venture to ask him if he wanted to join her at the wedding. Grudging agreement was one thing – being asked to be social when he wasn't the most socialite person anymore was another. Instead she decided to comment on his pick of places to visit this time – one that had surprisingly not ended up in running for their lives. "This is… nice. This place is beautiful."

"It is." He sounded like she had just pointed out that one plus one was two. He hadn't meant for such a sardonic tone, and saw the irritated look she threw him and tried to mend it with a sigh. "I thought you would like it after the stress of our last adventure."

That admission surprised her into looking at him again all traces of irritation vanished. He wasn't looking at her obviously, pointedly staring straight ahead with a carefully placed poker face so none of her staring was able to decipher anything.

She looked away from him eventually. "I do like it. I love it. Thank you."

He sat up watching as she suddenly slipped into the sea water below them, relishing in the coolness and the strange sensation that it did not feel like earth water felt – it almost didn't feel wet, in fact if she had to say it felt like anything earthly she'd have said the water felt like cool smooth silk sliding against her skin.

"If I had known that a planet rotating in unison with its suns so it seems to be set in enteral sunset was going to please you I would have brought you here sooner." The Doctor said. "It would have stopped you giving me the vague answer of 'something amazing' every time I ask you what you want to see."

The Doctor did not expect Clara to splash the water at him that was obvious in his expression as he flinched away as though she'd just pulled a gun on him and stared at his wet shirt in shock. "I said I love it but I wouldn't want to visit here all the time. Just once in a while, when we need a break from running and risking our lives."

He considered this as he held his wet shirt away from his skin. "That's a nice idea Oswin." He shrugged seeing her sudden thoughtful look as the planets alien fish began to nibble her toes, visible through the incredibly clear water. "But how about we go to the market and see if we can't find something to give your dad for his wedding present?"

Clara was sceptical about the gift the Doctor had persuaded her to buy for her father. She watched it with a grim expression as she leaned against the bannisters as he tried to fix some wires on the TARDIS console that had come loose. He refused to let her help, as usual, despite the memories of being a TARDIS technician.

"Are you sure no one is going to accidentally figure out I've given my father an alien fish?" she asked as she bit her lip. "I mean as much as he'd love it I don't want him to be taken away by the men in black for questioning. Also it's not going to hurt the other fish in the aquarium will it? He has a few pretty rare and expensive ones."

"It eats like an earth fish, swims like an earth fish and resembles maybe one or two species of earth fish." Was the Doctors reply as he fiddled with a few dozen wires in his hands. "I highly doubt any other human is going to pay enough attention to say 'oh look that fish resembles no species on earth you must've gotten in from an alien market, coincidentally It tastes very good fried!'"

"Fried, really?" she was surprised, the fish was no bigger than her little finger and didn't look like it'd be a very satisfying meal.

The Doctor was about to answer, but the TARDIS jerked suddenly throwing Clara, Doctor and the orb holding the fish to the right side of the ship. Clara hit the railing ribs first and knew that it would leave a bruise. The Doctor hit the same railing shortly after making a similar grunt of pain as she had. Klaxon's sounded suddenly, the sinister ringing made Clara's heart pound as the ship remained motionless, she exchanged a wary and worried look with the Doctor before the strangest feeling of dropping enveloped them – Clara felt like her belly had dropped out of her. The Doctor dove for her at the same time she nearly fell over as the TARDIS did what could only be described as a barrel roll knocking them both off their feet.

When the time machine finally settled, and not with a happy sound at all, Clara was lay on her back underneath the Doctor. Both of them where taking deep breathes to stop their hearts beating so fast and hard. She was holding on to his shoulders with a tight almost painful grip, and he had a similar grip on her, one arm around her waist the other around her back. After a few minutes of the ship no longer moving out of control Clara allowed her muscles to relax and sighed, closing her eyes. She let out a strangled sound when above her the Doctor suddenly relaxed too and collapsed on top of her with a relived laugh. They both laughed together, relived, and the TARDIS started to develop an air of unamusement.

"Oh" Clara suddenly moaned just a little "Doctor! You're far too heavy to be lying on top of me like this."

"Perhaps you would prefer to be on top?" he replied, lifting himself just far enough for her to see him smirk.

She smirked right back, she'd developed a kind of liking for this banter with him – it was dangerous, there was almost a glint in his eye that told her he might just take her seriously and it made her want to do this more. Just in case one day he really did take her up on the suggestions she threw at him. "You'd like that wouldn't you, me on top?"

"Oh Oswin…" his voice sounded tender just then. "You're playing with fire impossible girl – but coincidentally I would prefer you on top of me yes."

He stood up then, offering her a hand he helped her up too and while she went to find the little orb with a fish in it (said fish looked very startled in her opinion, which was strange because she'd never thought of a fish looking startled before) and the Doctor went to the blinking control screen. "Good news!" he called to her "It was nothing too serious – it turns out the air on that last planet wasn't as healthy for the TARDIS systems as it was for us, she's just a little drunk on it – shouldn't last too long. She did however manage to land us just a few streets away from your flat."

"Well that's good because my gran says she's going to be there with my bridesmaid dress any minute." Clara mumbled, then groaned earning her a worried look from the Doctor who immediately thought she'd injured herself somehow in the crash landing "She sent that text fifteen minutes ago, she's probably waiting outside my door right now!"

"Well we had better run then hadn't we?" he grinned grabbing her hand and trying to pull her out of the door – but she was frowning at him.

"Your coming with me? To the wedding?" she asked.

"You said you needed a plus one to dance with didn't you?"

"But you… you don't like to be social with anyone, and my family will be very social. Instantly social actually. You'll be treated like fresh meat by a bunch of rabid wolves. With rabies."

"While that is quite a graphic image Oswin-"he turned around fast, causing her to walk into his chest before looking up into his face, standing pressed against him. "I assure you I've dealt with worse families. Anyway I love to dance at weddings, I imagine this body will be far more graceful however."

"Your other body did look like a drunk giraffe…" she mumbled with a grin, accepting his hand again as he dragged them out of the TARDIS.

When Clara stepped off the elevator of her building with the Doctor in tow she winced to find not just her gran sitting in the hallway outside her door, but her step mother Linda and Linda's daughter who was a few months older than Clara all there with dress bags obviously intending to get ready in her apartment.

Linda's daughter, Maggie, was the first to notice Clara rushing up the hall with the silver haired man stalking behind her. "Clara this is a wedding day!" she snapped at her soon to be official step sister. "The least you could do is be on time so the bride can be ready!"

Clara swallowed her snappy reply and settled on glaring at Maggie. "Yes, yes sorry I'm late. I was busy."

"Woah!" Maggie then held up a hand to the Doctor as Clara unlocked her apartment and rushed her gran and Linda inside. "Men can't come in while the bride is getting ready, and who are you anyway – your old enough to be my grandfather what're you doing running around with Clara?"

Clara couldn't let that slip by, she stepped in-between Maggie and the Doctor with a frown and saw Maggie frown too. Even when they were teenagers Clara hadn't challenged Maggie so out rightly, she preferred wit and smarts to actually getting in the other woman's face, since she had to live with the bossy Maggie she'd always found it easier to just let it pass, but she figured now they'd actually be related and she'd probably have to see Maggie a lot more it was about time she stopped letting the other woman think she could push her around. "Maggie that is enough – you can't just insult the people I bring home and you certainly can't stop him coming inside!"

Maggie got over her surprise pretty quickly. "Clara who the hell is this guy anyway?"

"He's…" she didn't know how to finish that sentence truly, so she slipped her hand in the Doctors (ignoring his surprise look) she finished "He's my plus one – and you can keep your opinion to yourself."

Maggie gaped "You can't seriously be dating this old man Clara!"

She bristled "Shut up Maggie because he's twice, no, twelve times the man anyone you've ever dated has bee. Seriously, you brought that guy with a Mohawk to your mother's birthday and he ended up getting arrested at the party!" with that Clara pushed past Maggie in the hall, pulling the Doctor by the hand with her, she found her gran waiting for her in the hall.

"That was funny" her gran didn't bother to hide the fact she'd been listening to her talking to Maggie. "Now, here's your dress – you're probably going to need some help lacing it up, but your man here can help. Now you go get ready in your bedroom, Maggie can get ready in the kitchen, Linda is already in your bathroom and I'll get ready here and when we're already we can head to the church Okay dear?"

Clara and the Doctor had no real time to argue before her grandmother had ushered them into Clara's bedroom and shut the door on the.

The Doctor felt like he should break the quite tension so he said "You notice how your family didn't notice I was holding a fish?"

"Yes well, Linda's distracted by the wedding, my Gran doesn't care about weird things and Maggie can be… well a bitch, as you've seen."

"Yes…" he mumbled, looking away.

Clara frowned as she stared at him. "What she said… it didn't bother you did it?"

He met her gaze and tried to smirk but he wasn't sure he convinced her. "I guess it brought to attention a few things I already thought. Nothing too surprising."

"You know I don't care about your face don't you?" she bit her lip and looked at him carefully.

He stared at her and said carefully "You might if we were… dating."

She frowned "We're going to have to pretend we are today I think. Anyway, I don't think you're the dating kind of guy." She grinned at him.

"Oh?" he hooked an eyebrow, interested in her opinion of him and curious that she'd actually put any thought into it.

"Oh yeah." She grinned "I think you're more the possessive type. I think you're either all or none."

He smirked as he sat down on her bed. "Yeah. I think your right." he nodded to the dress in her hand "You should get changed. How do you want to do this – don't suppose you have a screen?"

She gave him a stare that clearly asked if he was daft. "Don't be stupid, just turn around."

He did as he was asked and turned around while Clara unzipped the bag of the dress and pulled it out, she lay it on the chair and began to strip. She had to do an awkward shuffle clutching her shirt to her chest as she realised she needed to get some suitable underwear for under the dress and the draw where the Doctor was facing, she'd just shuffled into his view when she realised his eyes where open – the both gave each other surprised embarrassed stares, the Doctors eyes gave her an appreciative look before he looked away and cleared his throat staring at his lap. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"No I'm sorry I thought your eyes were closed." She blushed harder, moving now to the underwear draw freely and in too much of a rush to be embarrassed any more. She pulled out a pair of blue lace underpants and a blue strapless bra – noting as she turned around that the Doctor was still staring at his lap.

When the Doctor heard the shifting of fabric that he identified as the dress he lifted his gaze again – his hearts where pounding against his chest hard and he had to gulp several times, he was surprised she hadn't heard him. He was trying to keep his body's impulses at bay, but when he caught a flash of movement to the left of him he knew he'd failed. They'd both forgotten about Clara's three sided mirror, and right now it was showing Clara just pulling the blue dress on, though the unlaced corset of the dress he could just see a deep blue bow on the top of her panties, and the matching blue strap of her bra.

She sighed suddenly, and stopped her attempt to lace the dress herself. "Doctor… I need help…" she admitted, sounding uncharacteristically shy.

He stood abruptly, noting that she was still turned away from her he was thankful as he felt to shame as he shifted to hide his problem in his trousers before he took a step forward to help her. "No problem…" he was surprised at his voice, it sounded soft and rough at the same time.

He laced the dress quickly, feeling an electric current through his fingers every time he briefly touched her skin. Clara herself couldn't help but tremor at the ghosting of his fingers over her skin, she'd always felt particularly sensitive on her back and this was just increasing her awareness of the Doctor, of their moderate isolation in her bedroom of all places. But she pushed those feelings to the side as he finished tying a bow at the base of the dress and she turned around to look at him. "Well?" she asked, her voice hesitant and soft. "What do you think?"

He just stared at her for a few minutes and didn't say a word and she worried that perhaps he was just trying to think of something nice to say. Finally he gave one of his genuine crooked smiles and said simply "Beautiful. You look beautiful Clara."

She felt the blush return and looked at him under her lashes. "I thought you said you only use first names on special occasions?"

His smile got softer. "I think telling you that your about to outshine your step mother – the actual bride – is a special occasion Clara."

She shuffled under his stare, feeling rather exposed in the low cut strapless dress, it barely covered her legs too, having a simple skirt that reached mid-thigh with a fish tail train ghosting over the back of her legs. She gave him a shaky smile and moved back a step to root around her wardrobe to find a pair of suitable shoes. "I doubt I'll outshine the bride Doctor, but thank you for the compliment."

"Maybe you'll just outshine her to me." He replied softly, and when she looked over her shoulder he wasn't looked her way.

They didn't speak again for a few minutes as Clara brushed on make-up quickly and tied her hair up in a messy bun, allowing some strands of her long hair to escape the bun in a stylish mess and she added a blue jewelled flower hair pin.

When she'd finished she approached the Doctor on the bed with a hair brush and stood in front of him. "We need to fix you up too if you're going to come to the wedding."

He gave her a startled look, having been staring into space before she spoke to him. "What?"

"You, I'm just going to fix you up a bit alright?"

"What do you mean by that?" his eyes narrowed as she took a step closer.

"Doctor just trust me." She laughed a little at him, stepping close enough that his knees pushed into her thighs. He leaned away as she tried to reach his hair, so she leaned further in until his hands handed on her waist and held her there.

"What do you mean by fix me up?" he asked suspiciously.

"Honestly you're so paranoid" she rolled her eyes but couldn't help but be amused as she showed him the hairbrush in her hand. "I'll just brush your hair and I think I can rub a few stains out of your shirt with these wet wipes" she showed in the packet in her other hand.

He stared at her a few seconds but nodded, leaning back into her so she could reach him properly – though he didn't drop his grip on her waist.

She brushed his hair softly, surprised he'd let it become so matted, it shone just a little when she finished and didn't look quite so wild and untamed. She leaned into him to throw the brush over his shoulder, and the Doctor's grip on her waist tightened as he wondered if she knew she'd just given him an almost unobstructed view down her dress? Did she know what her closeness did to him? His grip tightened again, and she finally noticed it as she retrieved a wet wipe and knelt to wipe at a few slight stains on his jacket and shirt. "You're going to have to loosen your grip a bit so I can reach these other stains." She smiled at him, kneeling just a little and blushing as his grip loosened only enough to allow her to move in his grip consequentially as she knelt down his grip stayed where it was and ended up just under her chest. She looked up at him questioningly as she rubbed a stain on the hem of his shirt, and he just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you afraid I'll run away?" she asked with a slight tease.

"Something like that." He said softly. He watched as she spotted another stain on his trousers – before she could rub at it he grabbed her wrist lightly. "Trust me you don't want to do that." He assured her questioning gaze.

"Why?" she frowned.

He was saved from answering by a knock on Clara's door and her gran asking through the wood "Clara are you ready? We're just waiting on you and Linda!"

"Yeah, we'll be out in a second Gran!" Clara called back as the Doctor stood up and pulled her with him. She ended up pressed against his body, staring at his face. "Doctor?" she questioned.

"Clara." He replied, rolling the 'r's in the way that caused her toes to curl. "You know you're a tease don't you?" he whispered it, leaning down she thought he was going to kiss her but instead he brushed his nose alone the line of her hair softly.

"Hmmm." She mumbled, wondering if she should admit to being attracted to him or to claim she had no idea what she was doing. "Maybe…" she decided to tease uncommittedly, before twisting out of his arms – but giving him a wink over her shoulder before she joined her gran and step sister in the sitting room. He sighed, nervous and frustrated at the same time. This wedding, he thought as he followed Clara, was going to be the longest of his life.


End file.
